ZaSu Pitts Movies

This amusing romantic comedy concerns Dr. Gerald Boyer (James Garner), a successful gynecologist with a wife and two children. Wife Beverly (Doris Day) focuses on maintaining the household and watching the kids. One of Gerald's patients, Mrs. Fraleigh (Arlene Francis), overhears Beverly talking up a new product she's discovered called 'Happy Soap' - whose manufacturer just happens to be Mrs. Fraleigh's father-in-law, Old Tom Fraleigh (Reginald Owen). She introduces Beverly to him; hugely impressed, the old man offers her $80,000 a year to pitch a new product called "Happy Soap." Beverly's career takes her away from her family responsibilities and causes a series of comedic commotions for Gerald and the kids. He comes home from work one morning and accidentally drives his convertible into a freshly dug swimming pool ordered by Beverly without his knowledge. The furious physician throws a bevy of boxes of Happy Soap into the pool, causing the house to be engulfed in suds by morning (which the kids mistake for snow). The family maid Olivia (Zasu Pitts) is nearly driven crazy with the events and has many harried scenes of comedic frustration. Directed by Norman Jewison, this thouroughly engaging comedy was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner. Reiner provides the screenplay for the feature which turned out to be the last film appearance of Zasu Pitts. With her passing marked the end of a long and successful career as a comedic and well respected actress that began in 1917. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A few unusual performers and actors are among the cast in this otherwise routine teen musical with more rock 'n roll than story. The legendary Zazu Pitts plays the role of Aunt Theodora, the woman who tries to keep her nephew Bobby (Jimmy Clanton) from getting on with his singing career. Bobby's millionaire father owns radio stations, and one day the teen sneaks his song into a station to be played on the air. As in any kid's dream, the tune is an overnight success. The problem is that when Bobby meets the young woman of his dreams, he cannot bring himself to tell her who he really is. Meanwhile, Aunt Theodora has hired a bodyguard -- none other than Rocky Graziano the World Middleweight Boxing Champion, 1947-1948 -- to watch over Bobby. And among the many warblers in the film, two are destined for special fame: Chubby Checker and Dion, who had just left his group Dion and the Belmonts. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A rare comedy effort by director Robert Wise, This Could Be the Night is based on a series of short stories Cordelia Baird Gross. Jean Simmons stars as Anne Leeds, a prim, proper and very level-headed grade-school teacher who takes a night job as secretary to rough-and-tumble nightclub owner Rocco (Paul Douglas). Despite his raffish exterior, Rocco has a heart of gold, and he does is best to protect Anne from Broadway predators in general and ladies'-man Tony Armotti (Anthony Franciosa) in particular. As she struggles to put Rocco's questionable business practices in order, Anne also encourages the efforts of immigrant busboy Hussein (Rafael Campos) to earn his American citizenship, and helps sexy chorine Ivy (Neile Adams) realize her dream of becoming a famous chef. Several veteran thespians add spice to the proceedings, including J. Carroll Naish, Joan Blondell, Murvyn Vye and ZaSu Pitts, while music is provided by the Ray Anthony Orchestra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Francis Joins the WACS was the fifth in Universal's comedy series about a talking Army mule and his hapless human companion. Thanks to a bureaucratic snafu, ex-GI Peter Sterling (Donald O'Connor) is called into acitive duty and assigned to a WAC unit, headed by Major Simpson (Lynn Bari). It is Sterling's task to train the women to be camouflage experts, but the ladies resent his presence, assuming that Peter has been sent to discredit their unit. But with the help of Francis, the WACs manage to win the annual War Games, and to flummox misogynistic General Kaye (Chill Wills, who also provides Francis' voice). Julie Adams, then billed as Julia, provides the love interest. ZaSu Pitts also appears in Francois Joins the WACs, recreating the role she'd played in the first Francis installment back in 1949, while other uniformed females include Mamie Van Doren and Allison (Attack of the 50-Foot Woman) Hayes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Audiences got their money's worth and then some from Byron Haskin's The Denver and Rio Grande. Edmond O'Brien plays Jim Vesser, a former U.S. Cavalry officer and hero, now the man in charge of getting the D&RG's tracks across the Rockies first to secure a right-of-way -- he revels in the job, chosen for it by General Palmer (Dean Jagger), his former commanding officer, who is chairman of the D&RG. But he suddenly finds himself in competition with the somewhat less scrupulous Canyon City and San Juan line, whose right of way is being secured by the much less honest and more ruthless McCabe (Sterling Hayden). At their first meeting, McCabe provokes a fight in which he shoots his own chief engineer, Bob Nelson -- another ex-Cavalry officer -- and manages to pin it on the unconscious Vesser. Although he avoids jail, Vesser is so torn up with guilt over what he thinks he has done that he leaves the railroad. Months go past, and in that time the Denver and Rio Grande steadily loses its lead over the rival company, as "accidents" and unrest among the men seem to plague their every move. Vesser finally decides to step back into the fight when one of these seeming accidents nearly wrecks the train on which he's hitched a ride. Coming to the aid of the general, he takes a two-fisted approach to the problem of McCabe that puts the two on a collision course in more ways than one. He also wouldn't mind getting to know the general's secretary, Linda Prescott (Laura Elliott), a little better, but for reasons that no one around her can explain, she is standoffish and even openly hostile to him. The conflict between Vesser and McCabe turns into what amounts to guerilla warfare between the two outfits, but somehow McCabe and his chief gunman, Johnny Buff (Lyle Bettger), always seem to be a half-step or more ahead of Vesser. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

One wonders if Donald O'Connor would have consented to star in Francis if he knew that a series was to follow. Adapted by David Stern from his own novel, the film stars O'Connor as GI Peter Sterling, who appears to be bucking for a Section Eight. Seems that Sterling keeps insisting that Francis, a cantankerous Army mule, has the power of speech. It turns out that Francis not only can talk, but is also a superb military strategist. With Francis' help, Sterling breaks up a Nazi spy ring and becomes a hero -- but this is only the beginning, as the future entries in Universal's Francis series would prove over and over. Providing able support to the hapless O'Connor are Patricia Medina, Ray Collins, and especially ZaSu Pitts as a bewildered Army nurse. The voice of Francis is provided by Chill Wills, who likewise showed up in most of the Francis sequels, and who, like O'Connor, bailed out before the final entry, Francis in a Haunted House (1956). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

If the Perfect Marriage in this romantic comedy were truly perfect, there wouldn't be any story, would there? Outwardly an ideal couple, Maggie and Dale Williams (Loretta Young, David Niven) have grown tired of one another after 10 years. Petty squabbles lead to major battles, exacerbated by the well-meaning interference of friends and relatives. Caught in the middle is Maggie and Dale's daughter Cookie (Nona Griffith), who loves both parents equally and doesn't want to choose between them-which may very well happen if things get any worse. Leonard Spigelgass' screenplay, based on a play by Samson Raphaelson, is a lot closer to real life than most films of the period. Funny though the disagreements between the Williamses may be, there is an underlying pain and harshness to their bickering, which even the reasonably happy ending cannot altogether dissipate. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Let's Face It is adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the old Norma Mitchell/Russell G. Medcraft stage chestnut The Cradle Snatchers. The basic story of three neglected wives who hire a trio of young men as professional companions is updated for the World War II era: The three young men are now lonely GIs. Bob Hope is the funniest member of the threesome engaged by the wives in order to make their wandering hubbies jealous. He is paired off with vivacious Betty Hutton, both of whom fight a complex situation-comedy plotline in order to find time for their expected specialties. Hope's best moment is a parody of the cigarette-lighting bit from Now, Voyager, in which he winds up with six burning cigarettes in his mouth. The stage version of Let's Face It was essentially a vehicle for Danny Kaye, who of course played the role essayed in the film by Bob Hope. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bashful Bachelor was the second of six 1940s B films inspired by the popular radio series Lum 'N' Abner. The two principal characters are the proprietors of the Jot 'Em Down Store in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Lum (Chester Lauck) endeavors to impress a marriageable middle-aged lady (ZaSu Pitts) by becoming a hero. Lum's partner Abner (Norris Goff) reluctantly agrees to pretend to be the victim of several staged accidents, so that Lum can come to the rescue and prove his courage. Somehow this ends with a slapstick horse race. Director Mal St. Clair reaps better results from Lum 'N' Abner than he would in his subsequent Laurel & Hardy comedies at 20th Century-Fox. The Bashful Bachelor was put together by independent Voco Productions, and released by RKO Radio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Monogram's So's Your Aunt Emma owes whatever success it enjoys to its star, the incomparable ZaSu Pitts. The fluttery ZaSu plays a countrified maiden aunt who comes to the big city when her nephew Roger Pryor gets into trouble with the Law. Seems that Pryor is inextricably involved with gangsters, who fear no one-except a certain notorious murderess. Through complications too humorous to mention, the bad guys become convinced that ZaSu is the killer, allowing her free reign in the underworld until she can clear Pryor's name. So's Your Aunt Emma was released to television as Meet the Mob. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Two of Hal Roach's short-subject stalwarts, Patsy Kelly and ZaSu Pitts, are teamed in the Roach-produced feature Broadway Limited. The whole story unfolds on a Chicago-to-Manhattan express train; among the passengers are Hollywood starlet April (Marjorie Woodworth), her producer Ivan (Leonid Kinskey) and her wisecracking secretary Patsy (Kelly). Hoping to stir up publicity for April, Patsy and Ivan conspire to adopt a baby for their client. Trouble is, the authorities are convinced that the child has been kidnapped, causing no end of trouble for such innocent bystanders as engineer Mike (Victor McLaglen), bookish young doctor Harvey North (Dennis O'Keefe) and garrulous clubwoman Myra (Pitts). The film is stolen by infant performer Gay Ellen Dakins, who spends most of her scenes smiling at the camera, oblivious of the adult slapstickery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide